Seeing Through the Cracks

Chapter 28

The week ahead is an opportunity for Jake to remain on his own at school, but he inadvertently leaves a textbook at home that he needs, and then realizes that his cell phone is broken, so by mid-week I am needed for rescue. By weekend, Jake is home again and working a dishwashing shift and delighting in another day of snowboarding. Since the second semester began, I have encouraged Jake to start job searching for the summer. He has the option of looking for employment close to home, where I can drive him in, or in the city where he can bunk in with his brother and have access to public transit. He's been on summer job searches online and has sent out his resume, but has, as of yet, come up empty.

When we have time to talk I share with him a conversation I had with my friend, Gillian, earlier in the week. I was scrolling through Facebook and happened to notice that she had posted something in regards to her husband's new and growing tech company. There was a link to click for those who were interested in applying for a full-time position within the organization. I browse the link to see just what kind of employment position they were looking to fill. They want a full-time employee starting now, not a summer student. Something about it provokes me to send a private message and ask Gillian if her husband's company would be hiring students for the summer. I let her know that Jake is studying software engineering at Guelph U. Gillian replies immediately, and lets me know that she's unsure, but very kindly offers her husband's email address and suggests that Jake send him a resume with a cover letter. I pass this information off to Jake, encouraging him to not waste any time in making this connection, as many university students will have already applied for and landed their spring/summer jobs. I've stepped up and asked, and the ball is now in his court to proceed, if he wants to.

Jake returns to school the following week and must successfully manage to meet his class schedule and workload, and to sleep overnight in residence. He even meets with his professor to discuss next year's courses. Unfortunately, the co-op portion is no longer an option for Jake, but he is able to remain in the Computer Science Software Engineering program. This will shave off a year of school completion but denies him access to work placement and opportunities for future employment. Upon graduation he will be on his own in manoeuvring his way into the job market. He tells me he's feeling fine about that decision. I am disappointed that this opportunity slipped through Jake's hands, but it is not the end of the world. Given the recent reality check I was stunned with regards to Jake's state of mind last semester, this decision by the university is not an enormous setback. As the week progresses, Nick also continues to communicate by text and emails with Jake, wanting to check in and track his movements, offering guidance and backing, as needed. That allows me to be able to relax a little more and focus on my own personal and business tasks. I am so grateful to have Nick's help. Diligent parenting can be a lonely process, and part of me wishes that Brian had more free time from his demanding work to be more of a help. But, as has always been the way, he has trusted me with much of the parenting role. His support in my decision-making allows me the freedom to make quick judgements, as they arise.

Jake and I meet again on Friday night and during the drive home from school I ask him if he's heard from anyone with regard to a job, and he tells me that Gillian's husband, Marc, has replied to say that Jake is not the person he is looking for in terms of the full time job position that was posted, but that he is passing along Jake's resume to the company's Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to see if he has any summer jobs available. Encouraging news!

Jake then tells me that, when I had first suggested he look at the company's job posting, he hesitated to go ahead and apply. After looking at the job link he saw that they were looking for a web developer type person who had experience in marketing and design. Web design programming and structure was a subject Jake had to take in both secondary school and then again in first year of university and it was definitely not his favourite. In fact, it was the very thing he hated. He also didn't feel confident that he had enough experience to work for this company, that the jobs were likely beyond his level of expertise. After thinking about it throughout that day, he then said to himself, "Essentially, I need a summer job, and no one else is calling me or replying to my applications, so what have I got to lose?" So he sent in his application. I applaud him for taking this initiative and for being able to talk himself through it, free of my influence. This step shows progress.